When I walk around the gym every day, I see a bunch of people working hard to be more fit. I also see people who outside these walls live completely different lives from one another. It’s crazy for me to coach someone for months and then find out they’re the CEO of their own company. Why? Because to me, they might have been that really fast runner, or the person who HAS to nervous pee before every workout, or the cherry picker who only shows up on days with heavy squats. I see athletes as people who come to the gym to work out. Everywhere else, they’re “Pastor so-and-so” or “Dr. such-and-such.” There will be accountants, nurses, stay-at-home parents, bartenders, lawyers, and teachers, all throwing down next to each other, not even aware what their classmates do for a living.
A local gym can serve so many purposes outside of just improving health and fitness. They can be local community chambers of commerce, networking hubs, and resource pools for any number of things. I’ve seen members find surgeons and physical therapists based on referrals of athletes in their class. Countless others have sold and purchased homes because of a realtor they met on a Saturday workout. Even if members themselves might not be in a particular profession, they’ll likely know other people who specialize in a specific field.
Learning more about these people you see a few times per week can have so many positive outcomes. It will not only help you grow your professional network and allow for potential referrals across industries when you find a time to connect individuals, but depending on what you do, it could even lead to you picking up a few new clients of your own. Finally, and not to freak anyone out, but getting to know others better at the gym could also lead to real-life, non “social media only,” actual in-person human friendships! I know!!
There’s a saying most of us have heard that says, “Your network is your net worth.” More than one’s actual “worth” though, because that sounds so selfish to me, it means that if you know professionals in different industries, you can be a greater resource to those that you care about. For a lot of us, being able to add value for others is one of the best feelings in the world!
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